ESSENCE Poll: How Do You Respond to Racism?

Dear White People, the satire film released over the weekend, brings subtle collegiate racism to light and starts a hilarious dialogue. But at the University of Massachusetts, students are experiencing racism in real life and it's anything but funny. Over the last week, University officials have been searching for vandals who have been writing hate messages on the walls of dorm buildings calling for the killing of Blacks and Mexicans, News One reports.

Josh Odam, the secretary of diversity for the Student Government Association, found the words "Kill These N--ers" sprayed on his dorm room door. And Odam was not having it.

"Whoever did this messed with the wrong one," he wrote in an op-ed piece, "They went to the wrong door, the wrong floor and the wrong community. We will not stand for this ignorance on our campus and will hold the University and ourselves accountable to ensure the safety of Black students, students of color, and the entire population."

So what would you do if faced with racism? Are you one to stick to Dr. King's philosophy of non-violence? Or do you take a page out of Malcolm X's book and teach the perpetrator a lesson "by any means necessary"? Take our poll and let us know in the comment section when and how you had to confront racism in your life.